Duke's Visitation
by KingViolet96
Summary: The Digimon Emperor receives a peculiar message from a certain voice within his mind, Could it be a description of a menacing omen coming his way or a key to a troubled past?
1. Ch 1 Duke's Visitation

**Summery and Acknowledgments:**

This is probably the one I have most faith in as I have done extensive refining to upload this story, so please take you time and review with precision, praise and constructive criticism! :D

Digimon is the product Bandai Company, Limited and Toei Animation Co., Ltd.

The italic dialog are a direct quotation on the song "Guide Vocal" by the band Genesis from their 1980 album Duke.

Can you spot the hidden reference in the title? ;)

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><p><span><strong>Duke's Visitation <strong>

The Digimon Emperor stood upon a grassy plateau, scanning the huge limitless digital ocean in front of him like a vigilant eagle looking for its prey, basking in the solitude with his Digimon beside him.

A smirked emerged from his crooked face, he began to fantasize about becoming the ultimate ruler of the Digital world, to march all over the face of this earth without any opposition to his power whatsoever and to finally crush the DigiDestined with his cold hands once and for all!

Wormmon had already given up on changing Ken for the better, no matter how hard he tried to convince him the emperor brushed him aside like an old doormat and did as he pleased, "What's the point anymore?" Wormmon sighed

Just as the purple-clad emperor began to indulge in his fantasies even further a soft spoken male voice entered his head like a psychic telegram and spoke:

_I am the one who guided you this far,_

_All you know and all you feel._

_Nobody must know my name_

_For nobody would understand,_

_And you kill what you fear._

_I call you for I must leave,_

_You're on your own until the end._

_There was a choice but now it's gone,_

_I said you wouldn't understand,_

_Take what's yours and be damned._

His mind had a sudden whiplash, "What was that? How did I hear those words inside my head?! Am I going crazy or something?" The mighty emperor boomed out in a frustrated cry "Who are you? WHO ARE YOU?"

Wormmon looked in total bewilderment as he watched his master go seemingly insane about that voice he heard earlier. The inquisitive green creature didn't hear a voice at all! So whatever it was it was certainly confined to Ken's head.

And so The Emperor walked back to his refuge in the sand dunes, trying to figure out that damn voice.

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><p>P.S. Don't forget to fav this story and follow me if you are convinced by my unique storytelling! (Well, it might be...)<p> 


	2. Ch 2 Forgotten Memories

**Forgotten Memories**

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><p>The Emperor sat on his stark grey throne with a puzzled expression as he tried to piece together just what went through his mind. Endless questions began to ensue; <em>"Why did the voice refused to give out his name? Did he really act as my guide? If so, for how long? And what exactly don't I understand?! This is really putting my brain in a giant clamp…" <em>thought the Emperor struggling to get a break from all this confusion.

Meanwhile resting at his side, Wormmon was looking at Ken with hungry eyes to try and comprehend what his mater was saying until finally it hit him: "KEN!" Wormmon cried out with a fraught voice, temporarily startling the Emperor "You shouldn't have done it Ken, you really shouldn't have!" he said with tears in his eyes, "WHAT? WHAT HAVE I DONE?" The Emperor ferociously said with angst "That voice came from your brother; he was trying so damn hard to fix you, to break you free from her wretched clawed hands" Wormmon tearfully replied.

The emperor was really boiling at this point, "How dare you bring Sam into this! What are you trying to do toy with me?!" Bellowed the Emperor "Are you saying he came back as a spirit to warn me of dangers or something because if it is then it's a sick tasteless joke you worm!" He was really losing it at this stage, so much so that he picked up and threw Wormmon right into the marble floor like a flimsy toy doll.

"It's not a joke Ken" Wormmon croaked in pain "He came back to warn you of Arukenimon's influence over you, she made you her mindless salve remember?" the little bug fell then unconscious.

The Emperor then sprinted to his body like dog to a bone, "Wormmon, Wormmon! Who's Arukenimon and what is she up to? Where is Sam and how can I talk to him? Answer me ANSWER ME!

His entire life was dedicated to become the biggest controlling bastard the Digital World has ever witnessed, and yet he knows nothing behind the scenes of all of this.

It was about time those endless questions had definite answers.


	3. Ch 3 A Passing Stranger

**A Passing Stranger**

It seemed that the Emperor's mind had finally shattered into a million pieces due to the unprecedented stress he had to endure, not only did he completely lost his ability to keep a level head but after his abhorrent fit of pique Wormmon was now lying beneath him unconscious and pooled out blood like leaked water pipe. A sense of remorse swiped him like mental bitch slap…

"OH SWEET CHRIST WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" roared the wailing child in the vastly open corridors of his refuge. He began to pick up Wormmon's body with his gloved hands and cradled him like a young baby, "I will get to the bottom of this Wormmon, even if it means tracking down my brother's spirit like you said", the Emperor finally realized he was telling the truth: the spirit _did _sound a lot like Sam because it _was_ Sam sending him the psychic message on that idyllic plateau and Wormmon was just trying to piece together what he observed but unfortunately Ken's pig headiness was like a 6 ft brick wall and Wormmon was banging against it tirelessly to bring the message home which ultimately led to the little creature's demise.

The emperor was just about to lose all hope when spotted in the distance a little boy appeared in the corner of his eye and steadily walked towards the grovelling teen. Dressed in royal drummer attire and barefooted the boy approached next to the Emperor's side and said calmly in a distinct English dialect "Ken Ichijouji…"

Ken flinched his head swiftly looking at the boy's sapphire eyes, "Who the hell are you and where did I arrive?" He begged the boy violently; the stranger knelled down and stated proudly "I am the Digimon Sovereigns' ethereal messenger in the form of a young human male and I'm here to give out those pleading answers to your begging questions, it seems that I obviously caught you at the very wrong time but since you have successfully deviated from Arukenimon's wishes for now you must listen to me very carefully". Ken focused on the messenger' words eagerly, "you will come with me to the time window in which you will revisit your fragmented past to understand why it's crucial at this very moment to turn over a new leaf" the boy sternly explained.

The young messenger pulled out an elegant Victorian gold key from his ruby drum base, and with it he summoned a giant white squared window amongst a sea of violet haze, The Emperor widened his eyes in astonishment, As if they boy was some kind of God. As the messenger unlocked the window's hatch and carefully swung the frame open Ken steadily walked towards the unit and said with a concerning tone "I'm not sure if this is the right idea", the young boy held his and softly said "Please, for Wormmon and Sam's sake, come with me.."

Ken reluctantly nodded and both of them climbed in the giant window in union, not knowing what the past has in store for the broken ruler of the Digital World...

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><p><strong>Trivia: <strong>The ethereal messenger in question is based upon the Front cover to Marillion's 1985 album Misplaced Childhood.


	4. Ch 4 Your Possible Pasts

**Your Possible Pasts**

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><p>Inside the great white window lies an immaculately clean hallway with leading towards a tall wooden door, Ken treaded along the carpeted hall like a curious cat as the messenger locked up the window behind them. Ken was awestruck by the design of the hallway; it was like walking through Buckingham Palace! As Ken approached the stark door he noticed a little door hanger on the golden knob that read:<p>

_Behind this door lies your possible pasts…_

_A place where what if's, could haves and might have beens come to fruition._

The young messenger explained to the puzzled teen, "Behind this door is a room which contains several portraits of possible pasts, where each and every one of them contains the recipient's traumatic scenarios from their lives."

Ken was a little bemused by this statement; "That's the past part explained, but what's so possible about them? You can't change what's already happened y'know" he rebutted cautiously, the young boy gave a stern retort "Human concepts of time do not apply in this kind of world Ken, so anything that's impossible to you is possible for us" Ken then kept his mouth shut as a result of the reply.

The messenger pulled out another key from his drum base this time a silver Edwardian type and proceeded to unlock the door, he then placed his hand firmly on the door knob and warned to Ken "Beware my friend, most of these portraits contain one of your most traumatic memories in your lifetime, including the loss of your brother mind you, Are you ready to take up this challenge?"

Ken nodded his head in agreement "Open it now please" he said worryingly "I'm ready to face my fears" The boy twisted the knob ever so carefully and opened the door wide open to reveal another hallway but this time shorter in length and 3 bronze-framed pictures hanged up on both sides of the wall, each containing Kens' most important events from his lifetime, the portraits contain various snapshots ranging from Sam's tragic death to his ascension as Tamachi Soccer's best player they'd ever had.

Ken can only look at them with a mixture of bewilderment and sorrow, for which the messenger can only replay "all of these portraits are fully interactive to touch so you can step into one of them at any time and change their respective outcomes, you only have one shot at doing so!"

"So if I wanted to I can bring my brother back to life?" Ken said with ferocious eagerness, "Of course, but you also have to decide what is worth changing for the better i.e. breaking free of Arukenimon's manipulations, If you make the wrong choices in the wrong location at the wrong time then you WILL be damned." The messenger replied with some concern.

He then firmly shut the door right in front of him and subsequently let him to his own devices, Ken could only turn around and view the pictures that lay in front to him. It's about time Ken fixed his broken history for the better so he can finally understand something the voice once said he couldn't.

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><p>Don't forget to fave and follow this story! and throw in a review if you like! :D<p> 


	5. Ch 5 Heathaze

**Heathaze**

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><p>The first portrait Ken prized his eyes on came from one of his earliest memories as a young child, standing outside his murky apartment blowing soap bubbles into the sweeping Odaiba skyline with a bright face that expressed cheerful glee and Sam was there watching in reverence. It was a simpler time with simpler goals with Ken's tiny lips pouting against the bubble wand hoping to blow the biggest one he could ever do.<p>

The older Ken could only look back in anguish as he saw the true cost of his prominence as a rising callous Emperor he is now. Suddenly the picture came to life like an camcorder showing the little Ken desperately trying to blow a ginormous bubble:

"_Gasp_ _Ppppfffffttttttttttt! Huff huff huff pfffftttttt… wheeze! Aw boy this is really getting hard"_

"_Sam! There's something wrong with my bubble wand can we get a new one please?"_

"_It's not broken you cheeky little scamp you were just blowing a little too harsh at the wand, seriously I can see you spitting everywhere and turning your face purple like ripe grape!"_

"_Your big and strong Sammy, you can blow a big bubble right?"_

"_Nah, I'm too old and smart for this kind of activity, besides you got lungs haven't you?"_

"_Yeah but I'm little and don't big lungs like yours" _

"_Oh go on then! I'll show you how it's done..."_

"_Ken, Sam; your dinner is waiting for you at the kitchen table!" _

"_Aww but Mom, Sam's about to-"_

"_Ken I have slaved over the cookers for 5 hour's to make and prepare this venison and beef stew and I want every last drop of it to end up in both your stomachs; now come inside and have this nice warm n' hearty meal with your father!"_

"_Ugggggghhhh fine!"_

"_Oh come on you little pouting frog! There's always tomorrow…"_

Then the portrait quality began to deteriorate swiftly like a faulty videotape before subsequently blacking out leaving behind a black canvas and completely moist red-eyed Ken staring out into the bare picture.

"My childhood" Ken said out mutely to himself "My precious childhood…"

He then walked vigorously towards the portrait with his arms flailed up and eyes gushing out tears like a small waterfall, "A childhood!" He said with increasing vexation in his voice; he went right upfront the unlit frame and then banged his fists against it like a raging bull "THAT CHILDHOOD!"

He then finally let out a shrieking cry of woe before passing out from exhaustion: "OH PLEASE GIVE IT BACK TO ME!" he then collapsed on the floor, lying on the drenched carpet like a broken action figure.

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><p><strong>Author's notes: <strong>Don't forget to fav/follow me and my stories! :D and spread this story around the Digimon community if you can!


	6. Ch 6 Duke's Sorrow

**Duke's Sorrow**

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><p>Awakened from his induced coma Ken delicately opened his violet eyes in a twitch-like motion, arising from the serenity of his blackout and is now returning to his own special nightmare. He slowly got himself up from his physical catatonic state in an appearance that resembled more of a broken man rather a callous despot. With his cape now in countless creases and his purple-tinted goggles now dripping with liquid condescension Ken felt emotionally raped by the previous experience which made his clotted heart liberated from its stoic nature, it seems for the first time in many years the once ruthless Digimon Emperor is now vulnerable to his emotions.<p>

Ken veered his head around to face the other portraits within the room, each holding a cherished memory that was ready to strike at him like a rabid dog frothing at the mouth with eagerness and rage but at this point Ken just couldn't bear another agonizing trip into his warped childhood, he wanted to wake up from this tight cage of torment and regret right now because he knows where this is all leading up to and frankly it's a memory he wished it was all inside his head locked within the realms of wishful thinking, But as soon as the adjacent portrait becomes alive Ken had no option but to stand up straight and watch in peril as the picture began to remind him of that one time when his wishful thinking paid off.

He watched in total silence as the portrait told the next chapter in his life with disturbing detail:

_The scene is set in a lusciously open park not too far from the Ichijouji residence and the young Ken accompanied with his mother is walking down the park with a happy demeanor that was soon to be wiped off completely as a fleet of gossiping woman swarmed the two of them like hungry vultures and began their deity-like worship of his older brother._

"_Oh, it must have been a real pleasure having such a nice, talented and intelligent young child just like Sam!"_

"_I really do envy you Mrs Ichijouji you truly have a prodigy on your hands!"_

"_If only my son could be as bright as your Sam!" _

"_My son ought to get a piece of Sam's brain if I'm ever going to be happy with him!" _

"_What did you do get such a genius like him?"_

"_How did make him such an excellent student?"_

"_Your Sam truly is a genius!"_

_Ken could only stare at the squawking woman with glum and disappointment; Mrs Ichijouji prized his big brother Sam like a mini rock star showering him with prestigious education and universal love that any parent would pull their teeth out for whilst Ken was left completely in the dark like a stray kitten in the alleyway begging for affection. More sorrow was yet to follow as they came back from the park; Kens face totally sullen like a grieving child sulking on the stairs whilst his mother perking with joy like an excited dog eagerly approached her favorite little puppy Sam._

"_Sam, you wouldn't believe what they told me about you again… everybody knows you're a complete genius!" yapped Mrs Ichijouji; she then looked at her other son on the stairs behind her with a faint smirk on her face, "Oh but you're okay Ken, we still love you lots…!" it soon became very clear to Ken where he stands in this household, "Yeah… just a lovely child, nothing more nothing less…" croaked the weeping boy. _

_As his father joined in on the verbal grooming of his little prince of a child, Ken sat on the dark mahogany stairs watching in the distance and soon turned his sorrow into unfettered anger:_

"_If Sam wasn't around anymore she would love me a little bit more" pondered Ken with an increasingly frowning expression. Ken went into this idea further; "Of course she would love me more if Sam wasn't here" Ken was beginning to show the first signs of his ruthless nature, "She would probably even notice my presence here if Sam didn't hog all the attention..." He then got up from the stairs and clenched his fists with total frustration; "Yes, I want Sam to disappear!"_

_Ken then stated to pay less attention to his parents constant grooming and more on his sadistic thoughts: "Sam always gets everything he wants! That Digivice should've belonged to me in the first place but no, Sam grabbed it first like it was his special toy and hid it in the drawer from me because he thought that I would steal or break it and then when I do touch it he scolds me like I'm his master, it's not fair! He always gets what he wants; He's got the brains, the attention, the love all the while I'm his little insignificant stupid brother who's got nothing to be proud for! Treating me like I'm at the bottle of the barrel…"_

_Eventually this blistering tirade against his older sibling culminated in what was to become Ken's first foray into his darker nature: "Genius Sam can have anything he wants yet I get nothing," He then unleashed an expression that can only be described as pure callousness "I only have one wish, __**I only wish for Sam to die!**__"_

And with that single sentence, the Genesis of Ken's Evil was conceived and is now ready to be born inside of him.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>This chapter was heavily influenced by the seminal Digimon Episode "Genesis of Evil", Hell I even directly reference it at the final sentence of the story! anyway this chapter took me a while to make (like a day or two I think...) so please take some of your valuable finite time to read this chapter in full with lots of enthusiasm :)

Don't forget to Fave and follow me and this story as well if you are impressed!and thanks for your tremendous support over the past few weeks guys, you clearly have boosted my moral significantly and taught me to persevere onwards with my work regardless of what others might say. I owe a lot to ya! ;)

_-KingViolet96 _


	7. Ch 7 Duke's Resentment

**Duke's Resentment**

"_I only wish for Sam to die!"…_

That single sinister sentence broke out of the portrait into the great hallway and reverberated around the room encircling the startled Ken like a pack of carnivorous vultures devouring every last drop of liquid sorrow coming out of his eyes, Remorse it seems has finally obliterated his despot alter-ego at last. Ken looked up to the hanging portrait with tears streaming down his cheeks "I can't stand this shit any longer!" he bitterly announced in the midst of his deepest woes and subsequently impaled the moving picture with his fists hoping that the excruciating pain will momentarily be brought to a halt.

"You can't tear a page out of your life's story Ken" said an emerging familiar figure in the distance reaching out to console the weeping teen; "even though we can't bear to face the next chapter in our lives" The messenger tried his best to comfort Ken but it seemed that it was all coming to naught as far as he was concerned. The enraged Ken hastily took off and flung his condensed goggles towards the sovereign narrowly missing the projectile; "I resented ever coming here to you" he uttered those words with extreme contempt "every waking moment of time in this place has been nothing but perpetual torture, you've done nothing but put my brain through a proverbial meat mincer and pulverized every single piece of it leaving nothing but a pile of sloppy mush like a demented psychopath you are!"

The humble messenger quipped back to Ken "Are you quite finished?" clearly annoyed by Ken's asinine fit of pique; "You are the one who created these memories in the first place, I'm only showing you how they led to your eventual ruin" He stormed over to Ken with a stern expression "How can I help you put together the jigsaw if you keep shredding all the pieces?" luckily this brought Ken back to his senses about the whole purpose of the situation: To reconcile with his past in the hopes of learning about his present state.

"Alright, I'll carry on as usual" Sighed the now placated Ken "but you will promise me that it'll soon be all over?" The messenger gloomily replied back to him "The only way these portraits will stop appearing is when you're dead Ken, because that's the only time when human memories cease to exist" Ken was taken aback by this recent revelation; he realized that this room represents his living breathing mind that generates memories of all kinds even including the ones that hurt the most.

But nevertheless Ken pressed onwards with his spiritual journey that was readily reaching its apex with the one picture frame he can't bear to look at: Sam's death.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>I sincerely apologize for the seemingly short chapter I made here, As it turns out I was heavily intoxicated with booze when writing this so it may seem a little vague to all you normal folk out there but eh, everybody has an off day...

Don't forget to fave and follow this story if it intrigues you! ;)

_KingViolet96_


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